1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to devices for catching crabs. More particularly, it relates to an improved crab hand line of the type used by sports crabbers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nets and traps are the tools most often used by commercial crabbers to catch crabs. Typical crab traps are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,226 to Petrella, 4,416,082 to Strobel, and 4,177,601 to Morton. However, there is a large body of sport crabbers; the sports crabber is not interested in harvesting vast quantities of crabs over a short time period, but would prefer to catch a small number of crabs in a leisurely fashion. Thus, sports crabbers do not use the well known tools of commercial crabbers.
Crabs are voracious eaters and will seldom let go of food once they have begun feeding. Accordingly, sport crabbers have learned that a piece of bait can be tied to a line, known as a crab hand line, and lowered into a place where crabs are thought to be present. If a crab begins feeding on the bait, the sports crabber slowly raises the bait by pulling in the line without jerking it so as to avoid startling the crab, and captures the crab by scooping it up in a net once the crab is within about six inches of the surface of the water.
The known crab hand lines have a number of drawbacks. Unless the bait itself is heavy, the hand line will float on the surface and will be ineffective because crabs do not feed on the surface; however, if a heavy bait is used and a fish, crab, or other animal eats a large piece of it before the sports crabber begins pulling in the line, the bait will float to the surface and lose its effectiveness. Thus, there is a need for a crab hand line that does not float to the surface even when a light-in-weight bait is used.
The known hand lines also become snagged on crabgrass and other underwater plant material as the bait is pulled in. Thus, there is a need for a crab hand line that does not become snagged as it is pulled through crabgrass and the like.
Baiting the known crab hand lines is also problematic. A line tied around a chicken leg, for example, does not hold the leg very well. Thus, there is a need for an improved crab hand line that is easy to bait, yet which will hold the bait securely for as long as the crab hand line is in use. There is also a need for a bait holder that enables facile removal of leftover parts of the bait.
The prior art, when considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, neither taught nor suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art of sports crabbing how an improved crab hand line could be built.